Several years ago, I purchased a Beadlock and never used it. I now have a project where it would work very well. The problem is if I go by the videos and online instructions on using it I’m not anywhere close. This test is the closest I’ve been able to come in getting proper overlapping holes. Life is too short to be having this type of issue with such a simple jig. Drill the A set of holes, move the jig head and drill the B set. What could be simpler, any ideas why I’m not getting the proper results? I have used two different ¼ inch drill bits with the same results.
I just tried it with the 3/8 guide and didn't get any better results. I'm fairly sure it's an operator issue. Part of what makes me think it is something I'm doing is I have gotten several different results using the 1/4 guide and 3 different bit. One bullet or round tip, one Dewalt pilot tip and one from sort of Mikita set I have. No consistency as all three act the same.
If there is any plus, the 3/8 makes a decent doweling jig if using in the B position and the two end holes. The time I've spent fooling with this thing is at least twice as long as it would have taken to make a good doweling jig. Sometimes forgetting what you have might be a time saver.
I carefully watched the BeadLock video provided by Rockler and another video. I also looked at the instructions for both the original and new, improved BeadLock systems. Since they are quite different in design and operation, it would help us a lot if we knew which one you have.
I am going to guess you have the older jig. It's instructions are here: http://www.beadlock.com/instructionsforuse.html If so, I'm going to make another guess. I think you have installed the guide block upside down. Are the chamfers in the guide block on top? If not, turn it over.
I feel it is my duty to point out a misleading statement in their video, "Mortise and tenon joinery is packed with painstaking setups, and difficult, time-consuming procedures, no matter how much you spend on specialized equipment." They must be pretending the Festool Domino doesn't exist. Compared to the Domino, the BeadLock system ends up in the same "difficult" bucket as all the other systems.
Yeah, the picture suggests that the bit is going all over the place. I'd try something like Austrian Fisch brad-point bits. They've never drifted on me no matter how squirrely the grain might be. As an added benefit mine have very long spurs and clear waste quickly.
No, that's not what's happening. These gizmos are designed with a sliding guide block that drills every other hole at one setting, and then drills the intermediate holes after sliding the block half the distance between the first holes. The complication is that the distance the block needs to slide depends on the drill size and therefore the hole spacing. BeadLock's instructions are not clear about how they set the spacing for the different guide blocks, and in fact the method is different depending on which model Stewart is using. In any case, the slide stop is not set properly for the size of the guide block, or the mechanism is jammed with wood chips, corrosion or crud. He might also be using the wrong sized bit for the guide block, but the location error looks too consistent for that to be most of the problem.
